The mission of the MS Natural Heritage Program (MNHP) is to collect, manage, interpret and disseminate current and credible data on Mississippi’s native biodiversity with a focus on species and ecosystems of greatest conservation concern, and to use this information to promote and facilitate sound stewardship and wise decisions concerning land and water resources.

Services

The data collected by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program is available to the public in various forms:

a) General "coarse-scale" statewide data is available free through simple download of pdf files on this site (see "Downloads").

b) Specific county-by-county data is available free online on this site (see "Search NHP Data Online").

c) Detailed data by specific criteria can be prepared by our staff for a modest fee (see "Data Requests")

Goals

Goals include:

• Provide a continuous process for identifying and assessing the status and trends of significant species, communities and natural areas and setting protection and stewardship priorities for the state.
• Maintain and make available a comprehensive database on Mississippi’s native biodiversity and natural areas.
• Facilitate wise and responsible decisions concerning Mississippi’s natural heritage and land and water resources.
• Use the Mississippi Natural Heritage Database (MNHD) to effectively disseminate educational information regarding Mississippi’s outstanding natural resources and promote the benefits of conservation and preservation focused stewardship.

Operational Activities

The MNHP operates through the implementation of the following activities: 

1. Data collection, management, analysis and interpretation
2. Conservation prioritization and planning
3. Providing education, outreach and technical guidance
4. Administer scientific collecting permits
5. Administer the Natural Areas Registry
6. Administer the Scenic Streams Stewardship Program
7. Quality Assurance/Quality Control
8. Conservation stewardship